Network spans every critical project cargo region

THE IMPORTATION from Germany of a roof structure for the new 2010 soccer world cup Durban soccer stadium – involving pieces weighing up to 115 tons and measuring 5-6 m in height – was all in a day’s work for project specialist Geodis Wilson. 14000 frt of cargo started moving in February this year and delivery should be complete by the end of the year. The recently-rebranded company, established following the takeover of Rohde & Liesenfeld in October last year, has its foundation in the project cargo industry. “Project cargo has been important since the day we opened our doors in South Africa in 1965 when my father started R&L in this country. We have shipped entire plants, machinery and other abnormal loads around the country ever since,” MD Jan Ludolph told FTW. “It’s a growing market – with the local mining, oil and gas industries, power and other industrial projects creating the demand.” The Geodis Group currently operates in four defined business areas. Project cargo is a stand-alone division within the Geodis Wilson forwarding business segment. The company’s comprehensive worldwide network spans every critical project cargo region, all reporting to the project HQ in France. “You can’t be regarded as a true project operator unless you have a stand-alone project office network that includes areas such Houston, UAE, South America and West Africa where the biggest oil and gas businesses are based,” says Ludolph. And while Africa has not featured strongly in its project business plans so far, Ludolph expects that the oil and gas industry in West Africa and the mining opportunities in central Africa will become a much larger part of the company’s future strategy. “Most of our project work is SAbased, but we can’t ignore the likes of Angola and the DRC, Algeria, Chad and Cameroon where the Geodis Group has handled entire projects for Exxon as an example.” And while most projects tend to be import-focused, Geodis Wilson SA is also involved in the export of locallymanufactured crushing equipment and mining gear to destinations around world – South America, Canada and Australia among the destinations. “To get the maximum benefit out of project cargo from a freight forwarding perspective you need to be focused on this business segment and we’ve made good progress with our strong international team and our newlyinstalled purchase order management system as an operational tool. “As the world progresses, project sites for metals and minerals become more and more remote, and that’s when we get involved – from feasibility studies to route surveys that include rainfall patterns and all the way to turnkey installation if required.” Ludolph believes that in project shipping nothing is more important than experience and technical knowhow. “The more challenges you’ve solved in your working career together with suppliers, the better your expertise and ability to solve them in future. One of the challenges is to ensure that the expertise is retained in South Africa,” he said.